Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos

Katherine Dolan Heckel





Heckel, date, approximate 1991; Loyd Groves
Date Missing 07/15/1991
Missing From
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Age 40 years old
Height and Weight 5'5, 140 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A sleeveless maroon, blue and yellow dark print dress, flat shoes (possibly tan in color, size between 8 1/2 and 10), a gold chain necklace, quarter-carat diamond earrings, a wedding ring with three small diamonds and a gold and diamond engagement ring with a one-carat diamond.
Associated Vehicle(s) Silver 1990 Ford Festiva (accounted for)
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Dark brown hair. Heckel's hair was shoulder-length at the time of her disappearance. She wears contact lenses and her ears are pierced. Her nickname is Kathy. Heckel's blood is type A positive. One of her teeth has been extracted and she has fillings on twelve others. She has a surgical scar on the right side of her abdomen from where her right kidney was removed.
Details of Disappearance Heckel was last seen leaving her office at the International Paper Company in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania on July 15, 1991. She was employed with the company as a management secretary.
Heckel called her two children just before lunch that days and said she was going to run some errands and would eat her lunch alone. At the start of her lunch break she drove her car out of the parking lot and never returned. Her father reported her missing the next day.
Heckel wasn't carrying any money or personal belongings at the time of her disappearance, and her financial accounts have been used since she went missing. Her silver 1990 Ford Festiva was found near the Lock Haven Hospital at 10:30 p.m. on July 17, two days after she vanished. The car was parked in third gear with the emergency brake applied, and the keys were missing. There was no evidence of her whereabouts at the scene.
Heckel's husband of eighteen years was in the National Guard and was away from home on a two-week training exercise when his wife disappeared, so he was quickly ruled out as a suspect in her . Authorities focused on another individual, Loyd Groves, one of Heckel's coworkers.
Shortly before her disappearance, Heckel told a friend she was having an affair with Groves, who was also married. Heckel allegedly said she wanted to end their relationship but Groves did not. She said she was anxious and fearful of him and accused him of stalking her and sending her lewd messages. On the morning of the day she disappeared, she had a noisy fight with Groves and he was witnessed chasing her through the paper plant.
Groves's van was seen leaving the International Paper Company at around the same time as Heckel's car. He claimed to not remember where he was at the time of her disappearance, and allegedly attempted to manufacture an alibi.He seemed anxious and paranoid in the aftermath of Heckel's disappearance and repeatedly asked people whether the police thought he was involved, and he asked a friend to take care of his wife and children in he got arrested. He did not, however, express concern for Heckel's welfare.
Type A human blood traces were found on Groves's van's upholstery, the middle seat and the interior light; DNA testing later determined the blood was Heckel's. Police also found a box of .25 caliber ammunition, a hunting knife, a partially used roll of duct tape and two duffel bags in the van, and a .25 caliber pistol in his desk inside the paper plant.
In January 2015, Groves was charged with her murder. He was tried in 2018; the prosecution suggested he wanted to have Heckel "removed" because she had become a "toxic" presence in his life.In December, after two days of deliberation, the jury acquitted him of first-degree murder but convicted him of the lesser charge of third-degree murder.
Groves's attorney asked for him to be sentenced to the minimum term of four to ten years, but he was sentenced to ten to twenty years in prison, which was the maximum sentence allowed for third-degree murder in 1991. At sentencing, the judge called Groves's crime "horrendous" and said he would have sentenced him to double the time if it was allowed. Groves will receive credit for the four years he was in jail awaiting trial.
Heckel was declared ly dead on July 15, 1998, seven years to the day after her disappearance. She's described as a reliable employee and a devoted parent who would not have abandoned her son and daughter. Her children are now grown and live outside the area.
Foul play is suspected in due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Pennsylvania State Police
570-726-6000
Other
Pennsylvania Missing Persons
The Center Daily Times
The Daily Collegian
The Patriot-News
NamUs
Federal Bureau of Investigation
WNEP-TV
The Lockhaven Express
WITF

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos